Terraced field in Son La province (Source: VNA)
The event was co-organized by The Embassy of Vietnam in Israel and Vietravel tour operator to feature Vietnamese traditional music performances by artists from Ho Chi Minh City and screening of videos on Vietnamese popular destinations, such as Hanoi, Hoi An Ancient Town, Ha Long Bay, Sapa and Ha Giang. They attracted both Israeli audience and Vietnamese people living in the country.
It gave local audience a glance into Vietnamese culture and more Israeli visitors will know about Vietnam.
Vietnamese culture introduced in Israel (Source: VNA)
Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel Do Minh Hung said that tourism has become one of the key economic sectors in Vietnam. In 2018, Vietnam welcomed about 25,000 Israeli tourist arrivals, which are likely to reach 36,000 at the end of 2019.
The embassy has prioritised accelerating people-to-people exchanges, cultural cooperation and tourism connectivity between the Vietnam and Israel, the diplomat noted. It has worked with local competent authorities and travel firms and received their support to boost tourism and to launch direct flights between the two countries.
Hanoi remains top FDI destination in 10 months
Hanoi continued to top the list of foreign direct investment destinations in Vietnam in the first 10 months of this year, raking in about 6.85 billion USD, most of which came in form of capital contributions and share purchase.
The 42-billion-USD smart city project is being developed along both sides of the Nhat Tan - Noi Bai Road. (Photo: thanglong.chinhphu.vn)
The figure left Ho Chi Minh City, who ranked second with 4.96 billion USD, far behind.
The 42-billion-USD smart city project is being developed along both sides of the Nhat Tan - Noi Bai Road. (Photo: thanglong.chinhphu.vn)
According to VNA, of the FDI flow into Hanoi, 945 million USD was poured into new projects, while 578 million USD was added to existing ones and about 5.33 billion USD was injected by foreign investors via capital contributions and share purchase.
According to the Hanoi City Department of Investment and Planning, the FDI capital flowed the most into property development, processing and manufacturing industry, trade and services, and telecommunications and information.
In October, the capital city licenced 91 new FDI projects, worth 468 million USD, including 72 wholly foreign invested and 19 associate and joint venture ones.
Rice export revenue suffers from price drop
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vietnam exported 5.56 million tonnes of rice and brought home 2.43 billion USD in the first 10 months of 2019, up 6.1 percent in volume but down 9.1 percent in value over the same period last year.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
The Philippines was the largest market of Vietnamese rice with 35 percent of the market share. The country spent 733.8 million USD to purchase 1.89 million tonnes of rice from Vietnam in the first nine months of this year, 2.9 times higher in volume and 2.6 times in value over the same period last year.
According to the ministry, downward rice prices, which sometimes hit the bottom in 12 years, were the major reason behind the fall in rice export revenue in the period.
On the average, rice price in the first nine months of this year was 435.6 USD per tonne, a drop of 13.4 percent year on year./.